


Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major

by KtheG



Series: Ensembles [1]
Category: The Wilds (TV 2020)
Genre: ADHD Characters, F/F, Fatin and Toni have ADHD, Multi, Shelby's a good gf
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-01
Updated: 2021-02-01
Packaged: 2021-03-18 17:34:11
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29121990
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KtheG/pseuds/KtheG
Summary: Shelby, Toni, and Fatin move in together and Shelby learns some things about her girls.
Relationships: Shelby Goodkind/Fatin Jadmani/Toni Shalifoe
Series: Ensembles [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2148156
Comments: 3
Kudos: 81





	Cello Concerto No. 2 in D Major

**Author's Note:**

> Listen, I now this is a new triad, but it works. Don't fight me on this, but feel free to come talk hc's with me on tumblr @thecapedgod

When Shelby had first suggested moving in together to her girlfriends, she had, admittedly, not thought the entire thing through. They had spent nights at each other's places often enough that it seemed inconsequential when they came to the realization that their respective leases all ended within a few weeks of each other. Shelby, given that she had the most free time these days, started looking for apartments big enough for three people. It wasn't that hard to find, but price was the biggest issue. The only places she could find were in the more uppity districts of the city, and when she mentioned it, Fatin had simply reassured her that price wouldn't be an issue. 

"Just find whichever place you think we'd all do well in, and let me know. I'll arrange it with my accountant." That had shocked Shelby. She didn't know Fatin had an accountant, but given her inability to keep track of the cash in her wallet, Shelby figured it couldn't hurt. So she had found a place, and the three had taken a tour and decided the space looked good, and they moved in. 

At first, things went smoothly, as smooth as they did when they would stay the night. There was plenty of space for them all to have a room if they needed it, and Shelby had a nice big kitchen to do with as she pleased. And to be honest, if Shelby didn't know her girlfriends as well as she did, she might not have even noticed that something wasn't right. But she did know them, and she did notice things not matching up. It was laundry day when she first realized something wasn't right. Fatin had been tense, her back particularly straight since they had woken up that morning, and Toni too, was more tightly coiled than normal. They had gotten through the first load (sheets) and things had been... okay, but Shelby quickly realized that she was the one carrying conversation. Which wasn't too abnormal, sometimes Toni and Fatin could get lost in their thoughts for hours.

But what wasn't normal was the way Fatin would shift around the piles of towels and sheets in the closet when she was putting them away. It wasn't even that big of a move, but it was enough for Toni to notice and let out a huff. Shelby didn't say anything, but she filed the incident away for later. And later would happen to come just a few days into the new week, when Fatin had been looking for her keys and was yelling about not being able to find them. 

"SHELBS!!!! Have you seen my keys? They were right here, I swear!" She said, pointing to the bowl that Shelby usually put their keys in at the end of the day so nobody would forget them in the morning.

"I haven't.... When was the last time you saw them there?" A trick she learned from her mother; asking questions usually helped jog the good ol' memory, but Fatin's face took on a panicked look. 

"I don't- yesterday? I don't remember?!? I swear they were just here five minutes ago!" Shelby watched as Fatin took to frantically moving the magazines off the dining room table looking for her keys. Books were pulled off the bookshelf, Toni's calendar was shoved aside, pages ruffling in the wind caused by the movement. 

"Fatin, baby, calm down. Just think for me?" Shelby pleaded, hoping that if she could get Fatin to calm down for a minute, that she might be able to remember where she had left her keys.

"Shelby, I swear. They were  _ right here _ . The ones with the ribbon? I can't-" she swept through the kitchen and into her practice room, muttering under her breath the whole way. Shelby took her own advice, and just thought about when the last time she had seen Fatin's keys was. It had been last night, after the taller woman had arrived home from work. She had walked straight to the back to drop off her cello, then into the kitchen for a hug after a hard day of practice.

So Shelby walked over to the little corner of their apartment that Fatin kept her cello in, and lo and behold, there was the little blue ribbon that housed her keys. 

"Fatin, honey, I found them!" She called out. Fatin came zooming out of their bedroom, eyes a little less frantic but still buzzing. 

"Thank you, thank you! I should have remembered where I left them." She pressed a kiss to Shelby's cheek and was out the door to brunch with Dot. The moment she was gone, Shelby started to think about the way Fatin obsessed over the seemingly careless way items were housed in their apartment. She could recall several rushed conversations between Fatin and Toni that seemed like gibberish to her, but the two had always managed to find whatever it was they were looking for without having to actually ask for the item. It was that moment that Shelby realized something was different for her girlfriends. 

Why Toni always got frustrated if her pajamas weren't haphazardly laid across the bed ("if I can't see them, I don't know if they got put in the laundry basket or not and I don't want to have to walk across the freezing tiles naked!" She had tried to explain it once to Shelby, but she simply didn't understand, but maybe it was starting to make sense.) or the way that Fatin could never seem to remember where she left things she used everyday because she never left them in the same place ("it doesn't help! If I leave them in the same place, then i'll forget to look there.") 

Easy to say, Toni and Fatin struggled to remember where everyday items were, but they could always remember where Shelby had left her book two weeks ago, or where their newest movie had disappeared to on the shelf.

Shelby started paying attention and turned to Google. Object permanence. That's what Google called it, but that only seemed to fit Fatin, so why was it that Toni so religiously insisted that the bowl on the counter for the fruit never move? Shelby honestly didn't think it was that big a deal if the bowl got switched out for another when it was dirty, but then she remembered the time she had changed the ceramic bowl to a plastic one and Toni had called her into the kitchen asking where the fruit went. Shelby had rolled her eyes and pointed out the red bowl sitting in the center of their kitchen counter. 

"It's right where it's always been, babe." Toni chuckled nervously before picking up her daily banana. 

At the time, Shelby had thought it was just a forgetfulness of living in a new space, but now, things were starting to click. The way that Fatin and Toni would argue over the placement of the DVD's in the cabinet under the TV, the way the towels always seemed to change orientation on the shelves in the closet, the way shoes ended up in different spots and always forgotten despite the example of Shelby's shoes by the front door. But Shelby wasn't going to bring up her findings to her girlfriends just yet. She was going to wait for them to come to her, knowing how important their agency was to each woman.

And maybe that was the wrong decision, because now, here they were, trying to work in the same space together for the foreseeable future. Shelby had carved out her own space in the kitchen, content to work on her laptop at the breakfast nook, while Fatin had brought her cello out into the living room for a change of scenery, and Toni was trying her best to work on the couch, but she was struggling.

Shelby watched as she shifted positions every few minutes. From sitting against the arm of the couch, to sitting on the floor in front of it, to sitting like a normal human being, to laying down with her laptop on her chest. It was just a tick of Toni's that Shelby had gotten used to, but Fatin was struggling. After an hour, Shelby could hear the beginning of an argument. 

"Toni, can you please sit still? I'm trying to practice." Fatin pleaded.

"Yeah, well I'm trying to work and your music is grating on my ears." 

"Well then you can put your headphones on? I really need to get this part right." 

"You know I can't work in my headphones. That's why you always go to the concert hall to practice." Toni’s voice had shifted from angry to whining. 

"Okay well obviously I can't do that, so could you please just try your headphones for me?" 

Toni huffed out a "sure" in response and slumped her way to her room for her headphones. She really didn't mind them, but it left her feeling vulnerable while she was working, unable to hear what was going on outside of her little bubble, and she knew that Fatin needed to practice, but  _ goddamnit _ it was really hard. So she shuffled positions even more, trying to find the right angle that wouldn't move her headphones off her head but still be comfortable to get her work done.

It was hard, but they managed for the rest of Fatin's morning practice. When the taller woman had left the living room for the kitchen for a glass of water, Toni following behind, Shelby couldn't help but ask "why don't you two work in different rooms?" 

Toni laughed, straight up cackled, while Fatin cracked a smile. "Because then  _ no _ work would get done, and some of us have deadlines, sweetheart." Toni said affectionately. 

This baffled Shelby. The two could  _ not _ work in the same space without fighting, so she had suggested the most logical idea: separate spaces to be productive, but apparently that was wrong? Her confusion must've shown on her face, because Fatin took a seat next to her and Toni and gave Toni a look. 

Shelby had no idea what that look meant, but she knew there were times where Fatin and Toni seemed to be able to communicate without saying a word, and they often jumped so far ahead of Shelby that she let them. 

"Shelby, my love, it's not that simple." Fatin started, only to be interrupted by Toni. 

"We work better in the same space because there's someone else there to take up psychic energy. My brain runs too fast to be alone-" which sounded reasonable to Shelby but it didn't explain why Fatin needed Toni. 

"And  _ my _ brain," here came Fatin's explanation, "requires outside input in order to focus. So even though Toni is really loud when she moves around too much," a glare from Fatin, "it helps me keep my mind distracted." Shelby must still look confused, because Fatin kept explaining. "If I focus too hard, it becomes impossible to actually get any work done."

Toni was nodding, "and even though I absolutely cannot stand hearing music playing while I work, knowing that Fatin is there keeps me in my seat." That made zero sense to Shelby. She couldn't figure out how two of the most opposite people could coexist like this. If she wasn't so patient, she would have knocked one of them out by now.

"Shelby, it's ADHD." And it clicked. The way Fatin had panicked at not being able to find her keys despite leaving them in plain sight, the way Toni missed the fruit bowl because the container had changed, the way Fatin would stack her music haphazardly across the bookshelves, the way Toni would leave her laundry unfolded but clean if she could. The way they could talk for hours about the seemingly most random things, the way their conversations would jump from thought to thought after skipping a few links for the rest of the class. 

"But, if that's- how did you- why didn't you tell me?" Shelby stutters out. 

"Honestly, I thought you knew," Toni shrugs. 

Fatin nods along, "you just didn't seem phased by anything. You cuddle with me under the weighted blanket, even though I know it feels overwhelming for you, you write sticky notes for the grocery lists, you always remind me to unplug the straightener. I really just thought you had picked up on it and figured it out." 

And honestly, that explanation makes sense to Shelby, but she just always chalked it up to being the oldest sibling and always having to make sure her little brother and sister remembered their homework or their soccer cleats. It didn't seem that complicated to her, but now that she has an explanation, Shelby realizes how hard it must have been for Fatin and Toni growing up. She's seen the way they can be brought down so easily by simple things like misplaced keys or laundry not in the right place. 

"Oh. Cool. Well then. Um, what do we do now?" She asks, always wanting to be prepared. 

"Well, things have been working pretty well so far, I'd say," Fatin claims and Toni hums her approval, "so we probably just keep doing what we're doing, and if things change, you're smart enough to figure out what's going on."

And so that's how they ended up with their whiteboard of reminders and how Shelby finally realized just how different things were living with her girlfriends. She no longer moved randomly left out sheet music, and she always remembered to put Toni's things back exactly where she found them, or asking Toni where she wanted her laptop after work. It's how she figured out why they seemed to forget to eat, and how she got Toni into the kitchen as a way to burn off some energy while Fatin did her evening practice. She learned that Toni should never be sent to the grocery store unsupervised, even with a list, because she will inevitably forget one or two key ingredients. Shelby learns that Fatin is great at baking because the instructions are so precise and must be followed to a T but that Toni really  _ really _ sucks at it. And that's how they live together, Shelby making time to listen to her girlfriends when they want to talk about some obscure factoid or current event. 

But ultimately, Shelby likes to think that getting them all in the same house was the best decision they could ever make.


End file.
